What are Piciformes?
Q: What are Piciformes?
A: Piciformes are an order of birds consisting of about 67 living genera and a little over 400 species, with woodpeckers and their relatives making up about half.
Q: Where do most Piciformes live?
A: Most Piciformes live in woods, as they are arboreal birds.
Q: What is the diet of Piciformes?
A: Piciformes are mostly insectivorous, though barbets and toucans mostly eat fruit and honeyguides are unique in digesting beeswax.
Q: How do the feet of Piciformes differ from other birds?
A: Nearly all Piciformes have parrot-like zygodactyl feet - two toes forward and two back - which is advantageous for birds spending much of their time on tree trunks.
Q: Are all Piciformes covered in down feathers?
A: No, with the exception of jacamars, Piciformes do not have down feathers at any age, only true feathers.
Q: What is the range of sizes for Piciformes?
A: The range of sizes spans from the 8-centimetre-long, 7-gram rufous piculet to the 63-centimetre-long, 680-gram toco toucan.
Q: How do Piciformes raise their young?
A: All Piciformes nest in cavities (holes) and have altricial young, meaning they have to look after their chicks for quite a long time.
